Design guru's new show tells 'why to' instead of 'how to'

Interior design guru Christopher Lowell and his film crew have been working at a frantic pace.

In just six months, they've produced 13 half-hour episodes for his new problem-solving series, "Work That Room," which premieres July 26 on the Fine Living Network.

Now it's time for the last "reaction shot," as Manhattan Beach couple Lisa and Dan Levin get a first look at their newly transformed courtyard.

"We built the house four years ago, but the outside remained an afterthought," says Dan (an entertainment lawyer who also is one of "Work That Room's" executive producers). "Every time we looked at it, we didn't know what to do with it."

"It had a teeny-weeny fountain that looked dwarfed, and a table and chairs that we got from Dan's parents as a gift," says Lisa.

The courtyard is no longer an eyesore. Lowell has tiled and filled it with faux-rattan recliners and chairs all festooned with matching rust-color cushions. It's a pleasant, inviting space that projects the aura of a boutique hotel.

Boutique chic

Which is no accident. Because, according to Lowell, it's the boutique hotel that's driving the brave new world of interior design. And it was the boutique hotel craze that ultimately stimulated Lowell to return to television after a three-year absence.

"I really was not going to come back to television after 10 straight years," says Lowell, whose last series, the Discovery Channel's "Wall to Wall," went off the air in 2005. "I felt like I had said everything I needed to say. Then we started designing hotels, like the Shade Hotel [in Manhattan Beach, for which he was chief designer]. In the course of being involved with boutique hotel design, it suddenly dawned on me that those of us who were designing these spaces were defining how the American home will change.

"Those public spaces [hotels and spas] that are being built are based on everything you see here," says Lowell, gesturing to the Levins' new courtyard. "It's small, flexible, easily movable furniture that is repositioned for whatever event is happening."

Lowell also is fascinated by what he sees as a new demographic in the marketplace -- the upwardly mobile working couples he refers to as "hyper-taskers."

"This is what really got me back on television," he says. "For the first time in the history of our culture, men and women are co-partnering every decision. Dan and Lisa are the perfect type. She may lay down the credit card, but his imprint is all over the decision. This non-gender-specific, or gender-neutral, look is how homes have to look.

"Since he and she are both bringing in the same amount of income, it's inappropriate for their home to just reflect her. And today, she doesn't want it to just reflect her. That's the big change. It used to be if the guy had an opinion or two, he got shut down."

Headline decorating

Each episode of "Work That Room," Lowell says, will tackle themes he describes as "ripped from the headlines," whether it's the new "guy influence" in interior decoration or the battle to make a house that's filled with kids not look like a toy warehouse.

"For our first season, we asked, 'What are the most riveting topics facing America today?' We have 'The Man's Voice'; we have 'The Re-invented Baby Boomers' [older Americans who are scaling down their housing needs]; and we have the 'Single Boomerang Kids,' who can't afford to live as well as their parents did. Those were the first topics that we did. Then we put out an [all points bulletin] to find people that fit into those scenarios."

The Levins, he says, represent the people who move into a property caring little about the lot but everything about the interior.

"They do all the upgrades, spend all their money there, and leave a courtyard space that looks like a stepchild," Lowell says. "Now, they've got a place for the kids and a place where 20 people can congregate."

Lowell also takes builders to task.

"In many of my shows, you will see me rant at the builders, 'What the hell were they thinking?' We did an entire show devoted to 'Vertigo Spaces,' because you know you've got a problem when you need scaffolding to decorate a room."

Lowell is convinced the era of the home-improvement project (along with the home-improvement TV series) is over.

"One of the reasons why I left television was that I felt the day of the 'how to' was gone. Today, it's a completely different world," he says.

"What I want to say to the old folks who tuned in to watch us do the 'how to' is, 'You know what, this is the "why to," not the "how to," era.' It's no longer about what to buy anymore. It's about why to buy it and where to put it."